Alliance with King Hiram

5 ^[a](A)Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for ^(B)Hiram had ^[b]always been a friend of David. ² Then ^(C)Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ³ “You know that ^(D)David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. ⁴ But now ^(E)the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor ^[c]misfortune. ⁵ Behold, ^(F)I ^[d]intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ ⁶ Now therefore, command that they cut for me ^(G)cedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” ⁸ So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent me; I will do ^[e]what you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. ⁹ My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea ^(H)to the place where you ^[f]direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then ^(I)you shall accomplish my desire by giving food to my household.” ¹⁰ So ^[g]Hiram ^[h]gave Solomon ^[i]as much as he desired of the cedar and cypress timber. ^11 (J)Solomon then gave Hiram 20,000 ^[j]kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty ^[k]kors of beaten oil; thus Solomon would give Hiram year by year. ^12 (K)The Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He ^[l]promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.

Conscription of Laborers

¹³ Now ^(L)King Solomon ^[m]levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers ^[n]numbered 30,000 men. ¹⁴ He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in relays; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And ^(M)Adoniram was over the forced laborers. ¹⁵ Now ^(N)Solomon had 70,000 ^[o]transporters, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, ^16 (O)besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the ^[p]project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work. ¹⁷ Then ^(P)the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. ¹⁸ So Solomon’s builders and ^[q]Hiram’s builders and ^(Q)the Gebalites ^[r]cut them, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.

The Doom of Babylon

17 ^(A)Then one of the ^(B)seven angels who had the ^(C)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you ^(D)the judgment of the ^(E)great harlot who ^(F)sits on many waters, ² with whom ^(G)the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and ^(H)those who dwell on the earth were ^(I)made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” ³ And ^(J)he carried me away ^[a](K)in the Spirit ^(L)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a ^(M)scarlet beast, full of ^(N)blasphemous names, having ^(O)seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman ^(P)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and ^[b]adorned with gold and precious ^[c]stones and pearls, having in her hand ^(Q)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, ⁵ and on her forehead a name was written, a ^(R)mystery, “^(S)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF ^(T)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” ⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with ^(U)the blood of the ^[d]saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered ^[e]greatly. ⁷ And the angel said to me, “Why ^[f]do you wonder? I will tell you the ^(V)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the ^(W)seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸ “^(X)The beast that you saw ^(Y)was, and is not, and is about to ^(Z)come up out of the ^(AA)abyss and ^[g](AB)go to destruction. And ^(AC)those who dwell on the earth, ^(AD)whose name has not been written in the book of life ^(AE)from the foundation of the world, will ^(AF)wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. ^9 (AG)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The ^(AH)seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, ¹⁰ and they are seven ^(AI)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. ¹¹ The beast which ^(AJ)was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he ^(AK)goes to destruction. ¹² The ^(AL)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast ^(AM)for one hour. ¹³ These have ^(AN)one ^[h]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

¹⁴ These will wage ^(AO)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(AP)overcome them, because He is ^(AQ)Lord of lords and ^(AR)King of kings, and ^(AS)those who are with Him are the ^(AT)called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵ And he *said to me, “The ^(AU)waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are ^(AV)peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ^(AW)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her ^(AX)desolate and ^(AY)naked, and will ^(AZ)eat her flesh and will ^(BA)burn her up with fire. ¹⁷ For ^(BB)God has put it in their hearts to execute His ^[i]purpose ^[j]by ^(BC)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the ^(BD)words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman whom you saw is ^(BE)the great city, which ^[k]reigns over the kings of the earth.”